THE OTTER AND SEAL 57 



60 and 62 shows the part the tail plays in enabling 

 the otter to enter the water without a ripple. In 

 these illustrations it will be seen how the power- 

 ful tail grips the rock, so that the body slips into 

 the water with a steady though rapid movement. 



Though otters require parental instruction to 

 persuade them to take to the water and fish, 

 many of their habits are inherited, e.g. the otter 

 just described had the night instinct very strongly 

 developed. If left alone she would lie up all day, 

 and only come out at dusk ; her shyness also, to 

 a great extent, disappeared with darkness. 



Again, the playful spirit was most marked. 

 Although this animal had been shut up in a 

 rabbit hutch for two years, after a fortnight's 

 freedom on the pond she was at times as skittish 

 as a kitten. Before she took to the water, sprats 

 were provided on land, and when her appetite 

 was satisfied she would throw the glittering fish 

 up in the air and catch them again to toss 

 them from paw to paw. Later, even when the 

 moment before she had been swearing and 

 cowering in a corner, as soon as the broom with 

 which the enclosure was swept was twirled in 

 the water, she could not resist the temptation 

 to play, and would circle round and round, now 



